


Clark’s Newfound Courage

by SamClark1988



Category: Smallville
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 11:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14019483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamClark1988/pseuds/SamClark1988
Summary: Clark was getting tired of saving everyone from the local meteor freak of the week. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he felt responsible. His parents always told him that just because he came with the meteors, didn’t make it his fault for what changes they caused. He knew because he had his powers, that he could help when no one else could.





	Clark’s Newfound Courage

Week after week it seemed like there was a new meteor freak popping up. First it was that girl with her super weight loss meteor vegetables, then there were the guys with meteor tattoos, and last but not least, the baseball player with the meteor inhaler. Between school, homework, chores and meteor freaks, it seemed as though he had no time for anything else. He was really getting tired of who he was, actually, he was past tired. It was the same old thing every week. It never changed.

The morning of his class field trip to the fertilizer plant started out like any other day. He got up, did his chores, ate breakfast and barely made the bus. As soon as lunch was over the teenagers were getting on the bus, ready to head to Luthor Corp. They were in the control room when a mad man came in wielding a gun and demanded that Chloe’s dad show him where Level 3 was. Chloe’s dad told the man that he didn’t know what he was talking about. The man made everyone sit on the floor and not move.

Outside, SWAT was already being assembled when Lex pulled up. They opened the gates long enough to let his car through, and then closed them back. He asked to be briefed on the situation and one of his security people told him about the man that was in there. Shortly after, his father arrived from Metropolis in a helicopter. He berated Lex and called him irresponsible for letting something like this happen. Lex got sick of hearing his father’s bitching, so he grabbed a vest, put it on, and walked inside.

Once he was inside, the man started yelling at him about Level 3. Lex tried to tell the man that he had no clue where it was, but the man wouldn’t listen. He got mad and broke a pipe. The methane level in the building started rising. When Lionel was informed about the methane, he told his people to seal the doors. He acted like he didn’t care that the building could blow up with his son inside. Back inside, a set of blueprints were brought to the man, but they showed no evidence of Level 3 on them. The mad man told them about a hallway and red pipes.

Lex finally told the man that if he let the kids go, that he would take him to Level 3. The man yelled at the kids to get out, so they left. As Clark and Chloe were running out, Clark turned around and slipped underneath the closing doors before Chloe could stop him. Clark walked back in to see Lex telling the man that he had no clue where Level 3 was, so Clark went searching for the hallway and the pipes that he heard the man talking about earlier.

Once he had found them and broken the wall down that was in front of the elevator, he went on the intercom and told the man that he had found the elevator. The man and Lex went to the elevator while Clark rushed back to close the methane pipe. Lex and the man had already taken the elevator to where Level 3 should have been. They were standing on the catwalk and looking down to an empty floor minus the barrels.

As soon as the elevator doors opened and Clark stepped out, he saw the catwalk collapse. The man was hanging on to the catwalk and Lex was hanging on to the man’s legs. Clark was afraid to add his extra weight to the catwalk, but he also knew that if he didn’t then the man and Lex could possibly fall to their death. He cautiously walked onto the catwalk, grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him up. The man ran for the elevator bay as Clark was pulling Lex up. Once Lex was up, they took off for the elevator as well. As soon as they got there, the entire catwalk plummeted to the ground that was about 50 feet down below them.

Once they were safe outside, the man was arrested and Clark joined his family in a huge hug. The press was swarmed all around the older Luthor and asking him questions. He waved them off saying how his son had a stressful day and giving him a hug for publicity. Lex looked over and saw how genuinely happy Clark was with his family and wished that there was a way that he could have people that loved him that much. 

A couple of weeks later, Lex’s father forced him to throw a party at the castle for some of their business partners. Lex really hated socializing, but it was required in the world that he grew up in. He called his staff together to have a meeting about the party. He told them all of their duties and then dismissed them telling them that if they had any questions between now and then to let him know.

An hour later, one of his cooks knocked on the door of his office. He invited her in and asked her what she needed. She told him that everywhere that she called in Metropolis was out of produce. He asked her if she had any ideas on a solution. She told him that on her visits into town, she had heard about a farm that sold local organic produce. He told her to call them and let them know what they needed and then get back to him with the cost.

Martha and Jonathan were in town buying parts for the tractor while Clark was at the house doing his weekend chores. He walked inside to get a glass of lemonade before he went back out into the sweltering heat. As soon as he had taken the first sip of his drink, the phone started to ring. He walked over and picked up the cordless handset.

“Kent Farms” he said. “Hi. My name is Margaret and I need to order some produce.” The woman said. “Ok. Let me grab the order sheet.” Clark said as he picked up the book and pen from the counter beside the phone. She gave him the order and the delivery date, and then they hung up. Clark finished his drink and walked back outside to finish his chores.

About 30 minutes later, he had just finished his work as he heard his parents truck coming up the road. He sat on the porch and waited until they had pulled in, and then he went to help them unload. His dad went to the barn to start working on the tractor while Clark and his mom walked inside. As they passed the phone Clark said “Oh, mom. I almost forgot. Someone called about an hour ago with a produce order. It’s on the books.”

She walked over and picked up the book and looked at it, shock clearly on her face. “Oh my goodness.” She said. “What’s wrong mom?” Clark asked. “Nothing’s wrong honey. This is amazing. If this is for real, this is a thousand dollar order.” Martha told her son. “Really?! That’s great.” He exclaimed. “Can you take it over as soon as you get home from school on Friday?” She asked him. “Sure mom. I’m going to help dad with the tractor. Let me know if you need anything else.” Clark replied. “I will.” She said as he walked out the door.

As soon as he got off the bus on Friday, he saw that his mom already had the bed of the truck packed with all of the produce that he had to deliver. He dropped his book bag in the barn and then went inside the house to let his parents know that he was leaving. His mom gave him the order sheet with the address on it and he left.

When he pulled up to the address, he was shocked. It wasn’t a house, it was a mansion. He pushed the button on the intercom. “Can I help you?” The man’s voice answered. “I’m Clark Kent from Kent Farms. I have produce to deliver.” Clark told the man. “Ok, let me check my sheet.” The man replied.

Less than ten seconds later Clark heard the man say “Welcome to Luthor mansion Mr. Kent. Please follow the path around the house to the small door around back.” “Thank You.” Clark replied as the gates started to open. As he was pulling up the driveway, it dawned on him that the gate guard said ‘Luthor mansion’. The man that faced the gun wielding crazy guy a week ago lived here.

He saw the door, and backed the truck up to allow efficient unloading. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later it was opened to show a middle aged woman. “Margaret?” Clark inquired. “Yes. You must be Clark Kent.” She replied. “How did you know my name?” He asked. “Lex told me how you saved his life at the plant about a week ago.” She answered.

“So, where can I put all of this?” Clark asked her. “On the counters will be fine. We will begin cooking in the morning. Mr. Luthor is forcing his son to hold a business party here tomorrow night.” She replied. “Oh, ok.” Clark answered.

They were halfway through unloading the truck when Lex walked into the kitchen. “Hi Clark.” Lex called out. It stunned Clark so much that he fumbled one of the boxes and an apple fell out on the floor. “I am so sorry Mr. Luthor.” He said. “Mr. Luthor is my father, I am Lex, and don’t worry about it, it’s just an apple.” Lex said. “Thank You Lex.” Clark replied.

“I’ve got a question for you Clark. How would you like to come over Sunday afternoon and hang out for a little while?” Lex asked. “Sure. Thanks.” Clark replied. “How about one o’clock?” Lex asked. “That sounds great. Well, that was the last box, I should be going. I’ll see you Sunday.” Clark said. “See you Sunday.” Lex replied before he walked back into the kitchen and shut the door. 

By the time Sunday rolled around, Clark was full of nervous excitement. He had never seen such a large dwelling before, not to mention such a cute person who lived inside. Once again he was greeted at the gate by the same voice that he heard on Friday. Once he told the man who he was, the gate opened. This time he drove up to the front of the mansion. He wasn’t even out of the truck by the time that the door was being opened.

The man greeted him “Lex is in his study. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the way.” Clark followed the man up the stairs and through a hallway. The man stopped outside of a door and knocked, and then opened the door. “Master Lex, young Mr. Kent is here to see you sir.” The man said. “Thank you James; that will be all.” Lex replied before the man nodded and walked out.

“So, I’ve got a new movie. Would you like to see it?” Lex asked. “Sure.” Clark replied. Lex called down to his kitchen staff and asked them to bring some popcorn to the movie room. Lex could tell that Clark was shocked when they walked into the room. The two side walls were filled from floor to ceiling with movies, the front wall was completely white with a projector on the ceiling. The back wall had a built in desk with a computer to run the projector.

“Wow Lex, this is so cool!” Clark exclaimed. “Wait until you see the movie I have.” Lex replied as he walked over and grabbed a case off the shelf, and handed it to Clark.”No way! How did you get this? It isn’t coming to the theater for another month!” Clark practically yelled. “My last name is both a curse and a blessing.” Lex replied as if it was no big deal. He walked over to the computer and put the movie in.

Right when he was about to press play, his staff walked in, set the popcorn down on the couch and walked back out. Lex clicked play and went to sit on the couch with Clark. Once the movie was finished Lex asked Clark if he would like to play pool. Clark told Lex that he had never played before. Lex offered to teach him, so they went back to Lex’s study where the pool table was. Clark lost count of how many games they played. The only thing on his mind was how Lex looked as he reached across the table to take a shot.

When Clark’s stomach grumbled loud enough for both of them to hear, Lex asked Clark if he was staying for dinner. Clark told Lex that he couldn’t impose, but Lex told Clark that he would be doing him a favor so that Lex wouldn’t have to eat alone, and Clark agreed. Lex called his staff and told them that he was ready for dinner and he had an extra guest.

All through dinner they talked about history and astronomy and found that they had a mutual enjoyment of the respective topics. Once dinner was over, Lex told his staff that they would like dessert to be served in his office. They went back to the office and sat on the couch, still talking, as they ate dessert. As soon as they were done with dessert Clark thanked Lex for the fun evening, and told him that he needed to get back home to get ready for school tomorrow. Lex told Clark that he was welcome to come over anytime that he wanted to.

By the time Clark got home, his parents were already asleep in bed, so he went out to the barn and laid down in his hammock. He laid there for a little while, but finally decided to go into the house and go to bed. Every night since Clark had been on the catwalk with Lex and Earl he had a nightmare of Lex falling, and Clark not being quick enough. He would wake up feeling sick to his stomach. Afterwards he would go downstairs and drink a glass of milk, and then he would fall back asleep, but would still toss and turn.

The next day he was behind the school, listening to some of his classmates. They were talking about something being grown around meteor rock in the woods. He decided to follow them to see what they were talking about. Once they got out there, Clark heard one of them say, "So, which one should we give to Mr. Luthor?" Another one answered, "He'll like that one, it's nice and fat." He mentally mapped the area, so that he could come back tomorrow, and then he followed them. They went exactly where Clark thought they would, to the castle. He slowly followed them inside and up the stairs to Lex's office. 

As soon as they walked in, Lex's head snapped up. "Did you bring it?" Lex asked. "Yes. It weighs about five pounds." One of the guys replied. "Good. Set it on that table by the door. Here is your payment." Lex said as he tossed one of the guys a brown paper bag. Once they walked out, Clark watched Lex as he got up and went over to the table. Clark watched Lex carry it into what Clark could only assume was Lex's safe-room. 

When Lex was safely inside, he took the item out of the bag. 'It was one of the plants from the area the guys from school were at'. Clark realized. Lex grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped a few leaves off the plant before he put it in a pot and watered it. He put the leaves inside a door on the wall, pressed a couple of buttons, and then sat down. He opened another door above the desk he is sitting at and pulls out a small square of paper that's no bigger than an inch and sets it down on the desk in front of him. 

He sat there for another minute until the place where he put the leaves dings. He gets up, opens the door and pulls out the leaves. He puts them on the desk and pulls them apart with his hands. After that he sets them on the paper and proceeds to roll it up. He brings a lighter out of his pocket and lights the cylindrical object on fire. He then puts it in his mouth and inhales. Clark sits there mesmerized by what he is seeing. He doesn't even realize that Lex finished what he was smoking until he hears the door click.

He speeds home as fast as he can. He does his chores, eats dinner and tells his parents that he's going for a walk. They remind him that it's a school night, so he has to be back by 10. He tells them that he will. As soon as he is far enough away from the house, he breaks into full speed. He easily finds the field where the boys went this afternoon. He carefully picks some leaves off of the plants. Once he has about twenty leaves, he puts them in his pocket and runs back home. He goes straight to the barn and puts them in a small wooden box inside his footlocker. He knew that Lex smoked them, but only after he put them in the machine. He doesn't know what the machine does, so he'll have to figure that out before he can do anything with them. 

As soon as school lets out the next day, he goes to see Lex. After they have been playing pool for an hour, Clark tells Lex that he is going to use the bathroom. Instead, he finds the room that Lex was in the other day, and has a look at the machine that he used. He memorized the name of the machine so he could look it up when he gets home, and then goes back to Lex’s office. Lex tells him that he called for dinner while Clark was gone. Clark thanks Lex, and then they go back to playing pool until dinner arrives. As soon as dinner is over, Clark tells Lex that he needs to get home so that he can do his chores and homework before bed. Lex tells him goodbye, but asks him if he can come over on Saturday. Clark tells him that he will, and then leaves.

Once he is back on the farm, he does his chores and homework at super speed. As soon as he is done, he goes to the loft and logs onto the computer. He researches the machine that Lex has, and finds out that it’s a combination of a microwave and a dehydrator. He knows that he would never be able to afford something like that, so he gets to thinking about things that he can do. He remembers that his mom made beef jerky by using the oven. It took a few hours, so he can’t do it while they are around. He goes on the kansas farmers website and sees that the granville farmers convention is in five days. Before he logs off the computer, he looks for the papers that Lex used to roll the leaves in. He figures that he can just super speed to the next county when he gets out of school tomorrow and pick some up at a gas station. He fell asleep in his hammock wondering what it would be like.

All through school the next day, he couldn’t pay attention. His friends and teachers had said that they had called him multiple times before he had responded to them. He just apologized and tried to listen more, but he couldn’t help it. His brain was just not there today. As soon as school let out for the day, Chloe caught him when he was passing the Torch and practically dragged him in the door. She asked him what had all of his attention. He debated telling her, because he was afraid that she would tell his parents or look at him like he had lost his mind. He didn’t know which one would be worse.

Finally he said, “Chloe, if I tell you, then you have to swear that you won’t tell a soul.” “Whatever it is Clark, you can trust me. I swear.” He wanted so bad to have some one to confide in that he told her. “Well, I was behind the school the other day and I overheard some of the students here talking. They dug a plant out of the ground and took it over to the mansion. Lex took some leaves off the plant, put it in a machine, rolled it up, and then smoked it. I got some leaves from the same plant, and I was about to go get some papers before you pulled me in here. My parents are going to the farmers convention in five days. The machine that Lex has is a combination microwave and dehydrator. My mom has made jerky in the oven before, so while they are gone, I am going to use the oven to dry out the leaves so I can do what Lex did.”

“Where are the leaves at now?” Chloe asked. ”They are in my foot locker that’s in my loft.” Clark replied. “Can we go see them?” Chloe asked. “Sure.” Clark replied. So, they left the school and Chloe drove them to the Kent farm. Once they got there they went straight up to the loft. As soon as Clark had showed Chloe the leaves, she explained to him that he cant smoke the leaves like they are right now, but she can get him some that he can smoke. She then proceeds to tell him that she can call someone from Metropolis and can have some here by the time that his parents go out of town for the weekend. He agrees, and she tells him that she will make the call as she is on the way back to the school.

Five days later, Chloe and Clark are sitting up in the barn. Martha and Jonathan called Clark about an hour ago to make sure that everything was ok. He told them that it was, and that he would be sleeping in the barn tonight so they wouldn’t worry if they called and no one answered. As soon as Clark had hung up from talking to his parents, he was calling Chloe. 

As soon as Chloe was in the loft, she pulled a mini ziplock bag and what looked like a small book out of her pocket and showed them to Clark. "How are we going to smoke that?" Clark asked. "I have to break it up and then roll it in a paper before we can." Chloe said. "Oh, ok." Clark replied. 

Once she had everything ready, she showed the finished product to Clark. He asked her what it would do. She told him that once he got done coughing that he would feel really good. He asked her to open the lead box and put it about 10 feet away from them. She did it without asking any questions, for which Clark was really thankful. 

He could feel the effects of the meteor, but it wasn't painful. He knew that he would be able to experience everything just like a normal person. Once they started smoking Clark felt like he was coughing up a lung. More than a couple times he had wanted to tell Chloe that he was done, but he kept going because he wanted to know what Lex saw in this stuff. 

After it was all smoked, Clark and Chloe just lay on the barn floor talking. Clark felt better than he ever had before. He asked Chloe if she could find any more of what she had brought. She told him that she could. He asked her to find some that was grown in meteor rock. Once again he was thankful that she didn't question him, she just said ok as if it was a usual request. Which it probably was for this town. 

Clark asked Chloe if she still had a crush on him. Chloe laughed and said no. Clark told her that there was someone that he liked, but if he told her that she couldn't say a word to anyone. Once she had promised to keep his secret, he told her who it was. She wasn't as shocked as he had expected her to be. She told him that she had already noticed. He put his head in his hands and said "Is it that obvious?" She just replied "Yup."

The next thing Clark knew, Chloe was dragging him out of the barn and into the house proclaiming rather loudly that she was hungry. He stuck his head in the fridge and pulled out everything that his mom had made last night for dinner. Once Chloe had told him what she wanted, he grabbed two plates out of the cupboard, piled the food on them, and then put them into the microwave. 

After they ate, they went back out to the barn. Clark asked Chloe to close the box, and again she did what he asked without questioning him. They had been talking for about 10 minutes when Clark said that he heard a car. Chloe started to get up to look out the barn window, but Clark told her not to bother because it was just Lex, so she sat back down. 

Once Lex had appeared in the loft, he greeted Clark and Chloe. "What you guys up to?" Lex asked. "Nothing much, just talking." Clark replied. "About what?" Lex asked. "Chemistry." Chloe replied. Clark started blushing furiously. Lex made a mental note of it, and then started telling them about his Chemistry class at Excelsior. He knew that wasn't the kind of Chemistry they were talking about, but he would rather talk to Clark about things like that in private.

Once Clark started yawning, Lex said that it was time to go, and invited Clark over to the mansion next weekend. Clark asked if Friday around 8 would be too late. Lex told him that it wasn't, and he could stay the night if his parents would agree to it. Clark said that he would talk to them and call Lex on Thursday to let him know.

After Lex left, Chloe said that she had to get home as well. They said their goodbyes and Clark thanked Chloe for bringing the stuff and having a good time with him. She told him to let her know the next time his parents would be out of town and they'd do it again. He said he definitely would, and then watched her walk out of the barn. 

Clark jumped into action and raced to the castle. He was just in time, because as he came to a stop, Lex was just pulling up the driveway. He screeched the car to a halt when he saw Clark sitting on the steps looking the same as he did less than five minutes ago.

"Clark? Is everything ok?" Lex asked as he got out of the car and made his way to the teen. Clark got up and sarted walking towards Lex. The only thing keeping Lex from running was the training from his father about not showing fear, and the fact that this is his friend, he won't hurt him. He was pulled out his thoughts by hearing Clark speak. "If I don't do this now, then I'm afraid that I never will."

Clark reached up and took Lex's face in his hands, leaned down and kissed him. Once Lex recovered from the shock, he said to Clark. "Are you sure that you are ok, Clark?" "Yeah, Lex. Never better." Clark replied with a grin covering his face. "Not that I don't believe that you're ok, but I'm curious. What brought on this sudden revelation?" Lex said. 

"I was sick of hiding from you. I finally found something that gave me the courage to show you how I feel." Clark answered. "Clark, I appreciate the honesty about this part of your life, but there are other things that you lie to me about. What about that?" Lex asked. “I’ll tell you everything. I love you and I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.” Clark replied.


End file.
